In a seven-day statewide strike, doctors working in public hospitals across Nigeria have demanded the release of their colleague Dr. Ganiyat Popoola, who has been abducted and held for more than eight months. Commencing on Monday, the strike seeks to bring focus to the escalating security situation impacting Nigerian healthcare personnel, raising larger issues regarding the well-being of citizens and the government’s handling of abduction situations.
Dr. Ganiyat Popoola’s Abduction: A Terrible Horror Story
Ophthalmologist Ganiyat Popoola, together with her husband and nephew, was kidnapped from her home on December 27. She worked at the National Eye Centre hospital in Kaduna. Midnight kidnappers broke into their home, launching the family into a terrifying nightmare. Dr. Popoola and her nephew are still held captive, causing immense suffering for her family and colleagues. Her husband was reportedly released in March following a ransom payment.
A Demand for Immediate Response from Nigerian Medical Professionals
The doctors’ walkout is more than a demonstration; it’s a call to arms for the Nigerian authorities to do what is right and bring about change. The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) has demanded that all medical services, including emergency treatment, be temporarily or permanently suspended across the country in order to put pressure on the government to take immediate action to free Dr. Popoola. The emotional toll on the medical community and the broader ramifications for healthcare in Nigeria were highlighted by NMA President Dr. Dele Abdullahi, who expressed profound worry over the case’s treatment.
She, her loved ones, and her coworkers have endured eight months of misery. Nigerians should value doctors’ lives, Dr. Abdullahi told the BBC. He expressed concern that the healthcare system would be even more severely affected if the association threatened to go on an indefinite strike unless immediate measures were implemented.
A Depressing and Anxious Work Environment for Doctors and Nurses
Nigerian doctors and nurses are terrified and disheartened by the kidnapping of Dr. Popoola. As it is, many medical professionals already face challenging working circumstances, insufficient security, and a brain drain as they seek safer possibilities outside. “Doctors are demoralized and terrified,” Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Okpanaki, Dr. Popoola’s colleague, said, elaborating on the psychological effects of the kidnapping on the medical community. Protecting the medical professionals who have stayed in a country where many are fleeing is a top priority.
The Effects of the Kidnapping on the Healthcare System in Nigeria
The abduction of Dr. Popoola highlights the increased security threat in Nigeria, especially in the northwest. Criminal gangs increasingly target individuals and groups for ransom, leading to an alarming increase in kidnappings. One of the biggest eye hospitals in Nigeria is the National Eye Centre, where Dr. Popoola has worked for the previous six years. Its positioning on the outskirts of Kaduna city, however, leaves it susceptible to kidnappings.
The dangers endured by anyone residing or employed in the areas surrounding the hospital are heightened by the fact that they are located near locations that have been targeted by kidnappers in the past, such as the abduction of numerous students from the adjacent College of Forestry in 2021. Coworkers and residents alike were understandably alarmed by the proximity of Dr. Popoola’s kidnapping to her place of employment.
The Debate Over Nigeria’s Anti-Kidnapping Laws and Ransom Payments
Dr. Popoola and her nephew are being held hostage by kidnappers who are demanding a ransom of forty million naira, which is around twenty-five thousand dollars or about £19,000. These demands are being made in spite of a contentious law that was enacted in 2022, which makes paying ransom a crime punishable by a minimum of fifteen years in jail. Many families still pay ransoms in a desperate attempt to liberate their loved ones, despite the fact that the law is meant to discourage kidnappers by removing their financial incentives to do so.
Given the complexity and high stakes of these cases, it is surprising that no convictions have been handed down under the new rule despite the legal concerns. The public and Dr. Popoola’s colleagues are growing increasingly frustrated as the Nigerian government remains silent on the doctors’ strike and Dr. Popoola’s continued detention.
Her peers praise Dr. Popoola as both a committed professional and a conscientious mother, and her dedication to her work is evident in The Human Cost of Kidnapping. She has made tremendous personal sacrifices for her job, and the fact that she was still nursing her youngest child when she was abducted is evidence of that. Healthcare delivery at the National Eye Centre has been hampered due to her kidnapping, which has damaged not just her family but also the center’s capacity to draw on her knowledge.
Her spouse, who has avoided interactions with the press, has been trying to secure her release through diplomatic means. But because it has been going on for so long, the family has started to think about other possibilities, and the NMA can now look into more aggressive tactics.
The Rising Danger to Nigeria’s National Security from the Country’s Kidnapping Problem
In recent years, there has been a dramatic increase in the illegal activity of kidnapping people in Nigeria with the intention of holding them ransom. Kidnappings used to only happen to famous people, but now they target regular people, students, and professionals as well. Because criminal gangs may operate freely in the state’s large, ungoverned spaces, the northwest region, which includes Kaduna state, has taken a disproportionately heavy hit.
The already precarious healthcare system in Nigeria is being further strained as a result of the large migration of professionals, including physicians, caused by the insecurity. According to experts, Nigeria’s healthcare problem will worsen if the country does not take immediate measures to stop these illicit operations.
Final Thoughts: A Petition for Immediate Policy Changes and a National Emergency
There has to be immediate action to reform policies and strengthen security measures to safeguard both citizens and professionals, as shown by the statewide strike by Nigerian doctors. The kidnapping of Dr. Popoola is a sobering reminder of the increasing security threats in Nigeria; the country’s leadership, security services, and the rest of the world must act in unison to address these threats.
